EarthLab News

Announcements

Athena Bertolino awarded for outstanding community impact

The UW College of the Environment awarded Athena Bertolino, Future Rivers program manager and member of EarthLab core team, the 2024 award for outstanding community impact. The Awards Committee was impressed with the breadth and depth of Athena’s work and the impact that she has, which was highlighted in her nomination letters. Her nominators note that she is absolutely essential to the success and impact of Future Rivers; she is completely dedicated to making the UW and College of the Environment a world leader in transdisciplinary environmental science research and education; her extraordinary commitment to excellence; and her ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice through programs, trainings and continuous improvement opportunities.

Students

MLIS Capstone team helps EarthLab show its impact

At its core, the goal of the University of Washington EarthLab is easy enough to explain. EarthLab connects various communities, sectors and disciplines with the UW to create equitable solutions to climate change. Understanding the big picture of how the EarthLab does that work, however, and seeing how the pieces connect, is more complicated.

Careers

NW CASC is Hiring a Research Scientist!

The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center is hiring a full-time research scientist to coordinate the Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NW RISCC) Network and to lead the planning and implementation of our Actionable Science Deep Dives.

Media Coverage

Scientists want to know how the smells of nature benefit our health

Spending time in nature is good for us. Studies have shown that contact with nature can lift our well-being by affecting emotions, influencing thoughts, reducing stress and improving physical health. A new paper led by Dr. Gregory Bratman, director of EarthLab member organization Nature and Health, outlines ways to expand research into how odors and scents from natural settings impact our health and well-being.

Media Coverage, Events

UW hosts 7th annual Northwest Nature and Health Symposium

On May 1, approximately 100 people attended the seventh annual Northwest Nature and Health Symposium hosted by UW at the wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ - Intellectual House from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Seven speakers from various institutions, in addition to a panel of the Greening Research in Tacoma Project, presented on topics centered around social and environmental justice.

Media Coverage, Climate

NW CASC Researchers and Collaborators Publish New Study on Centering Socioecological Connections to Collaboratively Manage Post-Fire Vegetation Shifts

A new, NW CASC-supported study describes the types of information, coordination and values needed to manage post-fire vegetation shifts ethically and effectively as they become more common in the face of climate change.

Media Coverage

Ben Packard leads EarthLab’s efforts to connect UW resources to community action addressing the threats — and inequities — of climate change

Identifying the root cause of the climate crisis is simple enough. Finding solutions? Not so simple. It requires enormous creativity, commitment and collaboration, often among traditional antagonists in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

To foster these ad hoc collaborations, there is UW EarthLab, a transdisciplinary institute within the College of the Environment that is connecting the diverse research expertise and student energy of the University of Washington to community-driven initiatives mitigating the effects of and building resilience to climate change—with a focus on climate justice.

Media Coverage

Tribal leaders host summit to share climate change stories, solutions [Seattle Times]

Meade Krosby, a senior scientist at the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, and Amelia Marchand, a citizen of the Colville Confederated Tribes and the senior tribal climate resilience liaison at affiliated tribes and the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, led a discussion on a project they are co-leading to support climate readiness of Northwest coastal tribes.

Events

UW stakeholders discuss climate change and healthcare in inaugural symposium

Healthcare leaders and stakeholders within the University of Washington came together last Thursday in the first-ever climate change symposium to discuss how the climate crisis impacts health systems.

The event, sponsored by the University of Washington School of Medicine, UW Center for Health and the Global Environment (UW CHanGE) UW EarthLab, and UW Sustainability, offered a full day of learning in areas like disaster preparedness and changes in clinical practice. The Department of Emergency Medicine’s Drs. Stefan Wheat and Jeremy Hess were instrumental in the planning of the symposium.

Events

Join EarthLab April 25 for Climate Justice Conversations and Connections

EarthLab presents an inclusive gathering focused on climate justice and community building. Across the Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma campuses, University of Washington students actively engage in vital discussions about climate change and its profound implications for social justice. Now, we invite UW undergraduates from all campuses to unite for a transformative half-day event at the Husky Union Building.
This free event is a platform for grassroots conversations to build a stronger climate community, where student voices take center stage.